With Romani, Sinti, Musette, Swing Manouche, Funk, Blues, and Dixieland influences, Baltimore's Ultrafaux is an acoustic powerhouse of two guitars and upright bass trading dazzling leads and harmonizing together on rich gypsy-inspired melodies. Atlanta's The Bonaventure Quartet opens the show with an instrumental performance to match.
Django Reinhardt fans won't want to miss this show!
$9 Adv – $12 Door
Doors @ 6 PM
Baltimore band UltraFaux performs original acoustic music with Romani, Sinti, Musette, Swing Manouche, Funk, Blues, and Dixieland influences. The band is an acoustic powerhouse of two guitars and upright bass. Sami Arefin and Michael Joseph Harris trade dazzling leads and harmonize together on rich gypsy-inspired melodies. The dynamic Eddie Hrybyk on upright bass holds down the steady swinging pulse and brings his passion for improvisation to the group.
Ever wonder why we named the band Ultrafaux? Here is the story:
Our friend Tomas from Orchester Praževica suggested the name UltraFaux on our FB site when we asked fans for the best band name. We kept coming back to Tomas' suggestion, noticing the various layers of meaning it could have. It was also unique and unmistakable. Ultrafaux means 'out of tune' in French which is just funny. Like naming a restaurant 'bitter' or something. The juxtaposition of the fox with the word 'faux' also kind of hints at our notorious mispronunciation of French words here in the states. Another important element is that it alludes to Django Reinhardt's composition 'Ultrafox', one of Django's first originals he recorded in 1935. Django was known for his play on words and the title Ultrafox was based on the name of the studio where they recorded called Ultraphone. Ultraphone sounds a lot like Ultrafaux doesn't it? So we have come full circle.
It was the song Ultrafox (and other original compositions) that really set Django's Hot Club of France apart from all the other Jazz bands at the time. So the name means a variety of things for us. Its a funny play on words, but it also signifies our move into the arena of original music much like the song Ultrafox did for Django's group in 1935."
The Bonaventure Quartet is a unique group which hails from Atlanta and is one of the premier Gypsy Jazz / Original Swing Music groups in America. Originally your basic four-piece quartet, we kept growing until now we have arrived at what we refer to as the Double Quartet.
The Bonaventure Quartet was originally just Dave and Charles who were nuts about Django. But we needed some low end, so we dragged Mark Bynum over on Sunday afternoons and became an all-acoustic trio based in Atlanta whose initial inspiration came from the great French gypsy guitarist, Django Reinhardt. At least, that's how it started. Since Amy Pike was a close friend and just happened to be the best singer we'd ever met, we begged her to start singing with us, and once she did, we didn't want her to stop. So then we were a quartet. (Mark got busy on the road and Kris Dale stepped and stayed for years! Now Kris is on the road and Mark is back in the fold.)
But we were still greedy for another melody instrument, so we went looking and found Don Erdman on clarinet and we became a quintet. Inevitably, however, we had to meet a swing violinist. So naturally, when Marla Feeney stepped into the room, we grabbed her, too, and now we have the Secondxtet! But then we recorded the Secret Seduction of the Grand Pompadour. Charles and Mark had worked with the amazing Joel Morris previously in a wacky funk group called the Sargasso Cs, and when some songs called for drums, we said "Yo-Joel!!" And he fit in like a glove. So now we had a Septet.
While recording the above CD, our wonderful friend and engineer, Ken Gregory played some trumpet and trombone, and he was so tasteful, we said, "bring it on, Ken!" Dave got busy with some other stuff and had to step out, but luckily Dan Coy, a great Atlanta jazz guitarist, turned out to be a Djangophile, too, and stepped right into the fold. Which brings us to the Fabulous Bonaventure Double Quartet. But that didn't last long. Gabe Granitz showed up at a gig we did playing the accordion and we said, "wow, it's so shiny!! And it sounds so French!" So now it's a Nonet.
The repertoire of the group is diverse. Our performances of classic standards, western swing, gypsy jazz and original compositions all fall under the spell of the Reinhardt influence. Moviegoers might be familiar with this style featured in the Woody Allen film "Sweet and Lowdown," or "Chocolat".
"The Bonaventure Quartet have only gotten more skillful and convincing in their take on a multitude of jazz variations – be it big ‘n’ brassy, smoky ‘n’ sultry, hot or cool, harsh or easy, the longtime Atlanta outfit handily transplants you to another time and place while putting their own stamp on it all. The ensemble’s latest album, Lost and Found at the Clermont Lounge, may take its title from the Ponce dive-turned-tourist-attraction, but the disc’s 15 songs traverse decades, regions, whole continents. Their mastery of their instruments, not to mention their affection for these sounds and styles, is genuine, never cheesy or cloying, which is no easy task, especially on the more theatrical pieces. It’s always a pleasure to hear Amy Pike sing, of course – the manner in which she embodies these songs, well, frankly I cannot recall her ever sounding better. And in the tradition of The Opal Foxx Quartet, there are no less than ten players on this thing. It’s a full-realized triumph…" — Jeff Clark, Stomp and Stammer